Day One

Well, I’ve hit my markers. It’s a tad after 8:00 pm and I’ve done 8198 steps and 15 floors. I’ve used my weights. And except for the leftovers from the freezer, I’ve been vegetarian.

I decided that I like to walk the dirt road behind my house, but not the paved state highway that gets me there and back. So, on my way to town, I tried turning left, not right, and drove down the dirt road and parked at the end. It’s just a half mile back to the farm, and then a half mile back to the car. I walked to the farm and back to my car, and then drove off to the store. On my walk I met a friend out for a walk with his dog, and then another friend who stopped, rolled down her window, and we chatted. Pleasant. One of the pheasants that escaped last October kept crossing the road in the middle, staking claim to his territory, I imagine, and giving me the “squawk.squawk” from the field as I walked by. All in all a pleasant way to kill a half hour.

My hips, which hurt when I walk any distance, did burn on my way out toward the barn–but hurt less on my way back to my car. Good sign. I tried to walk with good posture, holding my pelvis at the right “tilt”, whatever that is (tuck tush and pull in stomach?), and that may have helped. New insoles may have helped. Walking on dirt, not pavement, may have helped. And maybe, just maybe, more moving equals less pain. I do so hope that may be true!

2 Responses to Day One

I love this post, Karen. I grew up in farmland where there was little thought of exercise and good dietary habits. I had to get away from that place for a while to open my mind to other ways of thinking. I’ve been a runner and a vegetarian/sometimes-vegan for 30 years now. I’ll be pulling for you, Karen. We’re all in this together.